Rewind back to May of last year. I began posting here the songs that would comprise my debut solo release. Over the next few months I leaked out all twelve songs as mp3s in their entirety with the promise that these songs would officially see release on CD. Why would I leak an album prior to release? Because I knew that in the infancy of my blog and recording career under my own name I didn’t have all that many people on board at that given time. But those who were on board were completely sweet and faithful and seemed interested to hear the selections I posted, even if most of them were rough and unmastered mixes.

From what I remember two release dates were set and then passed on. I received word that the label and other parties involved would need a full three months lead time to organize and prep. I had no complaints with this. To rush a release seemed like a silly thing to do. So the waiting began. And now, finally, I wait no longer.

I’ve personally sold copies of this CD to, perhaps, you. I’ve been sitting on a stockpile since October and selling them at my shows. It seems like this thing has been out for months now even though it’s only been out as far as my car, trains or the airplane carried me. Six months after I sequenced the last song and now available to all accepting parties, ‘Adventure, Bless and Don’t Be Sorry’ sees its official release.

Recording Process
In January of 2005 I decided I was going to make this album but I was unsure how and with whom. I threw around ideas of visiting various studios as well as lending some of the instrumental duties to fellow associates. But as it has before, my mind was subconsciously set on a completely solo recording. I had an eMac on hand and the necessary instruments and microphone. That’s right, one microphone. For better or worse I decided I needed no studio, no one else to compromise or even collaborate with. I’m selfish in this way. The decision hurt nor helped anyone except myself. So, armed with a hard drive full of loops and the songs that had been bouncing around my head for the months prior I started what would end up being a six month time span of writing, rewriting pressing the R button on that keyboard and so forth.

Of course this is me, in my basement apartment in Chicago. And of course I documented the recording process.
Twelve songs made it onto the album. There are, at least, five songs that I recorded during the “sessions” but for one reason or another left off of the final product. If enough people show interest in these outtakes I will post them here or there. I have no current plans on what to do with the songs. But all ideas are welcome.

Artwork
The wonderful collage, layout and overall design of ‘Adventure’ was done by Jason Pierce. Jason is not only 1/2 of the Recordhead duo, he also manages Luna Music which happens to be easily one of the best record shops around. If you are in or around Indianapolis please go check them out. Beyond all of that he is a fine artist who’s work I’ve been a fan of for quite some time. He’s done album artwork for Guided By Voices, Tobin Sprout and Airport 5 among many others. Jason played a crucial role in every single step of this album’s production. And I publicly thank him for his amazing attitude and unrelenting support he’s given me over the years.

Jason designs under the mperfect d e sign co moniker and you can browse through loads of work he’s done there. You can also jump over here to see all of the art for my album.

Inspiration
These songs were necessary. If I didn’t record them I would have decided to not document some of the most important moments of my life. Between 2003 and 2005 I traveled to Europe three times. The first time I met someone there who changed my life for the better in nearly every way possible. The other two visits are a direct result of our meeting. So the songs are about situations I found myself in because of this new and beautiful relationship. Huge things happened in Uppsala and in Berlin and in Prague. The pictures on my camera told the visual. But these songs are the story.

The songs also deal with existing in the City of Chicago. Sure, I traveled to Europe and found love there. But I had a life and amazing friends and family in Illinois. Being torn between two sides of the world makes for some nice lyrical content. But I captured only a small fraction of what I was dealing with in these 12 songs. It’s a start. There is more to come.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2006 at 6:27 pm and is filed under my music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.